Claude b



Feb. 26 1924.

Re. 15,777 c. B. MELCHIOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Originl Filed Aug.

I 10 wherein the movement Reissued Feb. 26, 1924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAUDE B. MELCHIOR, a citizen of the United States, and formerly a resident of Des Moines, in the county of 6 Polk and State of Iowa, and nowa resident of wilmington, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented a certain new and useful Bottle-Capping Machine, of which the followingis a specifica- 10 tion.

The object of my invention is to provide a bottle capping machine of simple, durable and inex nsive construction. A furt h iar object of my invention is to rovide means for fixing the type of caps own'as crown capsto' a bottlein order to seal the bottle. r

A. further object providea device of the class mentioned,

of the -crown en- 'ng device may always be in lines parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bottle in order to minimize danger of breaking the bottles; u A further object of my invention is to provide such a device adapted to be actuated by ahand lever, which attains its maximumfeflectiveness, when it is moved' to sub- *stantially a horizontal position and to provide in connection with such a lever, means for adjusting the relative vertical position of the cap engagin member, whereby the cap engaging mem er may be in pos tion to seal bottles of various sizes and heights when the lever is in horizontal position.

A further object of my invention -is to provide a platform having a supportin member extendi upward y bar formed on e supporting member, a

" sliding member adapted to slide on the supporting member, a lever pivoted in said sliding member and having teeth formed thereon whereby rotation of the lever may cause the and means for disengagin said teeth from the rack bar, so that the p ace at which the teeth engage the rack bar may be vaned.

With these and other objects in view my rangement and combination of the various parts of the device, wherebythe ob'ects con- "fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and of my invention is to.

with a rae teeth-of the lever to engagethe rack bar to reciprocate the sliding .member' invention consists in the construction, ar-" templated are attained, as hereina ter more UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. CLAUDE 13. mnomoa, or WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR TO neuronal-ran MILK comm, or onmm RAPIDS, IOWA, A conrona'rron or IOWA.

BOTILE-CAPPING MACHINE.

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my improved device.

Fig. 2 shows a similar view, illustrating the possibilities of adjusting the device for different sized bottles.

Fig. 3 shows an end elevation of the device.

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged, detail, sectional view illustrating the manner in which the hei ht of the bottle capper may be varied.

ig. 5 shows an enlar d, detailed, sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 shows a top or plan view of the device. 7 r

Fig. 7 shows an elevation of the rack bar to illustrate the manner of forming the teeth and Fig. 8 shows-an enlarged, detail, sectional view illustrating the manner in which the capping device is fixed to the stand upon which the bottle rests.

Referring to the acompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate generally a base, which may be formed from wood. Extending upwardly from position adjacent to one end of the base 10 is a casting comprisinga clevishaving vertical members 11 and 12, terminating in a yoke 13, from which a rack bar 14 extends upwardly.

The forward edges of the rack bar have teeth 15 formed thereon. The members 11 and 12 areconnected together at their lower ends by a transverse bar 16, which has its central portion ofl'set at 17 to form shoulders. A groove is formed in the board or base 10 adapted to receive the transverse bar 16 and to engage whereby when bolts 18 are extended through the bars 16 and the base 10, the coaction of the bolts and the surfaces of the grooves and the bar 16 will-hold the members 11 and 12 in a' vertical position. i

It will be seen that the shaping of the groove to fit the upper surfaces and side edges of the bar 16 makes it unnecessary to provide additional supports to hold these parts in substantially vertical positions.

Mounted on the rack bar 14 is a casting adapted to slide up and down on the rack bar and to pivotally sup ort a lever 19. This casting, which I have esignated generally the surfaces thereof Original Io. 1,865,182, dated January 11, 1921, Serial No. 319,839, filed August 25, 1919. Application for K reissue filed March 11, 1922. Serial No. 543,005. r

npperpart thereof is offset at 20 to form a Adjacent to the central portion of the pocket,the'opposite end-of the pin 24 is supported. The transverse front member 23 is extended-forward and forms abottle capping member B at the lower'endof the casting A. Pivotally' supported on the pin 24 is a hand lever 19, which has a segmental gear 25 formed on its inner end and adaptedto engage the teeth 15 of the rack bar'14, so that rotation of the lever 19 will cause vertical reciprocation of the casting A relative to therack bar 14 and the base 10.

From the construction of the'parts just 'described, it will be seen that if a bottle C beplaoedfon-thebase 10 adjacent to the arms 11 and 12 and a cap, indicated by the dotted lines at 26, be placed upon the bottle, the r0- tation of the lever 19'fwillcause vertical reciprocation of the casting A thereby bringing the sealing recess B into contact with the cap 26 and sealing the'latterto the neck of the bottle.

Referringto Fig. 1," it will be'seen that when the lever 19 is'in horizontal position,

then a downward pressure on theend of the lever will exert amaximum pressure against the sealing recess B, so th'atit is desirable that means' beprovided to have thefparts in position with the lever 19 horizontal when the sealing recess B is accomplishing the sealing of the'cap to the bottle.

Bottles, however, are of different heights and sizes sothat means must be provided for adjusting the distance of the casting A from theplatform '10 in order to accommodatedifl'erent sized bottles. I accomplish this result by the following means. The 011'- 7 set" portion 20 of'the casting A is of sufficient size to permit the segmental gear 25 to be slid laterally uponthe pin 24 when the lever 19 is in substantially horizontal posi-' tion. This is accomplishedby forming the 7 bottom web 27 of the pocket or ofiset portion '20 of such a height that-it'will coact with the flattened side 28 of the segmental gear to permit the latter to be moved laterally only when'the lever is in substantially horizontal position.

When the segmental gear is moved into the pocketas mentioned, it will be seen that the casting A may be moved freely up and down the rack bar 14 and the segmental pocket 20", as is illustrated in Fig. 7. The

1 the wall 20 gear 25 may: again slide laterally into eliposition with the recess B alinedhorizontally with the top of the neck of the bottle, and the lever19 must be in horizontal position on account of the shoulder 27 and flat- 30 tened portion 28, when the segmental gear is moved back into engagement-with the teeth 15. These parts also make it impossible for the segmental gear to slide out of engagement with the neck, except when the lever is in horizontal position.

In order to obviate danger of the latter situation, the teeth 15 are tapered, so that they become smaller on the side opposite the teeth on the segmental gear 25 are-tapered in the opposite direction, so that movement of the segmental gear on the rack bar ordinarily tends to throw the rack bar against and thereby prevents the segmental gear from being accidentally thrown out of engagement with the rack bar.

In this co nnectiomattention is drawnto the fact that the tapering of the teeth mentioned amounts to a proximately a onehundredth'of an'inch For each tooth, so that I have not attempted to illustratethis tapering in the drawings, except in Fig. 7, and in that figure, inclination of the teeth has been greatly exaggerated in order to bring out the principle of the construction.

An advantage of my improved device resides in the fact that it may be adjusted with a minimum amount of eflortto seal bottles of various heights when the operating lever is in position to exert a maximum pressure upon the sealing recess.

A further advantage of my invention resides in the vertical reciprocation of the casting A, whereby a straight downward force is exerted on the bottle, thereby minimizing. danger of breaking the bottles.

' Some changes may be .made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my improved device, without departing from the essential features and purposesof my invention, and it is. my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my-inventionz 1. In a device of the class described, a base, a rack bar secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom, asliding member mounted on said rack bar comprising ides adapted to engage the rack bar, a ottle seahng head, and an oflset portion adapted to form a pocket, and a lever pivotally mounted in said slidin member having a s?mental gear form at its inner end a a ted to engage the teeth of the rack bar, segmental er and pocket being in alinement where y the segmental gear may be moved laterally into said pocket and out of engagement with the teeth of the rack bar.

2. In a device of the class described, a base, a rack bar secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom, a sliding membe! mounted on said rack bar comprising gides adapted to enga e the rack bar, a

ttle sealing head, an an ofiset portion ada ted to form a pocket, and a lever pivo y mounted in said sliding member hava segmental gear formed at its inner ada ted to engage the teeth of the rack bar, sai segmental gear and pocket being in alinement whereby the segmental gear may be moved readily into said pocket and out of engagement with the teeth of the rack bar, the teeth of said rack bar and segmental gear beingl tapered in o posite directions, whereby t e accidental s ippin of said segmental gear out of mesh with sai rack bar will be prevented.

3. In a device of the class described, a base, a rack-bar secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom, a sliding member mounted on said rack-bar comprising guides adapted to engage the rack-bar, a bottle-sealing head, and an offset portion adapted to form a pocket, and a lever pivotallyr mounted in said sliding member and havin a segmental gear formed at its inner end a a ted to en age the teeth of the rackbar, said segmenta gear and pocket being in alinement whereby the segmental gear may be moved laterally into sa1d ocket and out of enga ement with the teet of the rackbar, sai lever and pocket havin portions which engage and prevent latera shifting. of said gear segment except when'the lever is in a predetermined position.

4. In a device for applying closures to bottles, the combination of a base, an upright formed with a rack portion at its upper end and spaced apart legs at its lower end at which said upright is connected with said base, a slide movable on said upright and havin spaced apart extensions projecting beyon t e teeth of said rack ortion, a closure-engaging member carrie by said slide, a gear segment pivoted between said spaced extensions and meshing with said rack portion, means carried by said slide to permit movement of said gear segment in a plane le hwise of the axis on which the latter is pivoted, out of engagement with the teeth of said rack bar, and an operating handle carrying said gear segment.

CLAUDE B. MELCHIOR. 

